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Monday, 29 April 2013

ROSNEATH PENINSULA

Rosneath is a village just inside the mouth of Gare Loch,
off the Firth of Clyde.In the 6th
century AD St Modan arrived here and founded a church.The present-day parish church includes the
earlier ruins, and in 1880 a carved stone was found there which is thought to
have been St Modan's tombstone.There is
also a headstone believed to mark the grave of the only African slave buried in
Scotland.St Modan's Well is renowned for its healing
waters.Rosneath Castle,
a neo-classical mansion which replaced an earlier structure owned by the Clan
Campbell, was used as a military hospital during the First World War.Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, resided
there until her death in 1939, and the castle and estate were sold.Since this coincided with the start of the
Second World War, and since Gare Loch offered ready access to deep water
combined with the flat terrain of the estate, Rosneath was chosen as the site
for a naval base.The naval base is now
gone, but much of the Rosneath
Peninsula is still
Ministry of Defence property.That said,
there is still room for leisure activities on the peninsula, most notably at Cove Park,
which offers residencies for artists.There
is sailing and other watersports activity at Rosneath Castle Park and a Sailing Club
at Cove.The peninsula is also home to a
variety of wildlife, including buzzards, hen harriers and sparrowhawks up above
and roe deer down below.Kilcreggan, at
the southern end of the peninsula, has a pier from where ferries leave for Gourock.

About Me

I grew up in West Cornwall, and this has left me with an enduring love of the sea. That's me with the sun hat on a family outing to the beach.
The British coast is one of the most varied of any country in the world, and I aim to share it with you through this blog. I intend to blog my way around the entire British coastline, visiting seaside resorts, the best places to view British birds, and much much more, so why don't you come along for the ride. If you like this blog, why not take a look at my sister blog, Britain On Page And Screen.